Travel Trend I’m Loving: Volunteering While Traveling

You can volunteer anywhere in the world, so why not do some volunteering while traveling? In doing so you will help preserve the planet, make an impact and even meet other like-minded people in the process.

Volunteering while traveling provides the perfect authentic experience. You get to see a new culture and a new place, all while doing good in the world. I personally enjoy volunteering while traveling abroad because other countries across the world need more help with the environment around them.

Keep in mind, some of these opportunities are short and others are much longer. I always think about the type of service first, when choosing an opportunity. This helps me to stay focused on the most important question – where can I make the biggest impact? Long-established nonprofits are a great place to start when looking for the most safe volunteerism opportunities out there, especially when it comes to environmental volunteer opportunities.

Read on for five ways you can help preserve and protect vulnerable resources by donating your time and energy while you travel.

Plant Trees

Trees combat climate change, produce oxygen, provide cooling and shade – which saves us energy, reduce pollution, prevent soil erosion, clean air pollutants, provide wildlife habitats and more. So if you’re going on a road trip with the girls, become part of the tree-planting movement, and see if the city you’re visiting is part of Arbor Day’s Tree City USA network, a program that helps green up cities and towns across America.

Participate In a Local River Cleanup

I personally enjoy this experience because it is one of the most rewarding. We can make rivers safer for wildlife and humans by removing trash. This also improves water quality and provides aquatic habitats with protection for marine life.

Restore the Environment

Ecological restoration is a great area because its focuses on the removal of weeds, replanting of vegetation and providing a habitat for wildlife. Wherever you are, the environment always needs assistance. There are lots of different ways to restore the environment – forest restoration, grassland restoration and watershed restoration.

The best way we can contribute to environmental restoration is to help reduce the need for it. Recycle paper and plastic to reduce the harvest of raw materials. Choose other methods of transportation, like walking or riding your bike so we can save more petroleum and reduce emissions that hard the environment around us.

It’s also important that we teach schools about environmental awareness so children can begin to make their own decisions about conserving their local environment. The Peace Corps offers plenty of opportunities like this.

Environmental volunteering is a great way to gain experience and help the world in the process. It’s also a great networking strategy to help you figure out what you want to do. Volunteer to meet like-minded people who can help you on your own journey. Perhaps you just want to see new places while also helping the world.

So whether you’re interested in personal development, learning about the natural environment, making a contribution or just want to help the environment – give environmental volunteering some thought, and determine which area is best for you.

Kacey Bradley

Lifestyle - Wedding - Travel

Welcome to The Drifter Collective - a lifestyle blog sharing my love for travel, style, wedding inspiration, homemaking and so much more!
Some people call me a traveler, while others refer to me as 'the well cultured friend" who drifts into everything. Pun intended. :)